My apologies that you’ll now have that song stuck in your head for the rest of your life. Back to my regularly scheduled post.

When I learn about something I find particularly exciting, upsetting, annoying, etc., my son likes to say that I’m a little late to the party, meaning the ‘something’ has been around for a long time. For example, when, in 2009, I discovered an awesome band called Matchbox Twenty I also found out they’d been around since the mid-nineties.

What does being fashionably late to life have to do with cleaning up? Be patient, I’m about to explain. You see, I’ve only just arrived at the party hosted by the tidying queen herself, Marie Kondo.

If you haven’t heard of Marie you must have been living in the same cluttered, oops, sorry, untidy cave I’ve been in. I’m not surprised I didn’t see you amidst all the stuff surrounding me.

I’m over by the model airplane.

One Saturday afternoon I came upon a story about Ms. Kondo. Because I’m an inquisitive woman, I researched the smiling, tidying guru and was immediately sucked into her world of tossing shit (bleep), items that no longer bring me joy. I’m not a stranger to the joy thing, I’ve been pursuing it for 60 years. One time I almost had it but the slippery little sucker managed to get away.

I’d already done a purging of the kitchen; not willingly, mind you. My 16-year-old cat spends his nights prowling and, well… You get the idea.

One of the many gifts Shadow has left me.

Okay, back to Marie and my disorganized life. After discovering Marie I spent the remainder of the afternoon learning about her system for tidying-up. The basis of her formula is as follows: Instead of looking for items to throw away, look for items I want to keep because they bring me joy. I get the joy part when it comes to personal stuff, such as Chris’ drawing of Batman when he was four. No, Batman wasn’t four, Chris was four. Yup, I’m an author. Dah.

And cue Marie.

Did I mention Marie is selling items to help you organize, sorry, tidy your home? Very expensive items. The good news is they’re guaranteed to declutter your life because you’ll have less money to spend on things you don’t need.

So, in closing, I’ve decided to give the KonMari Method a try in my office. Here are my before pics:

Before

Before

I’ve been trying to organize, argh, tidy my office since the first of the year. A futile attempt but I did find $15 under my desk. Sweet!